Opinion: Does Kevin Walters back Darius Boyd, Valentine Holmes or Corey Oates for left wing?
QUEENSLAND’S Origin selectors have always shown loyalty to the men that have done the job before. But picking whether Boyd, Holmes or Oates runs on in the left wing is one of Kevin Walters’ biggest challenges in 2018, writes Mal Meninga.
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QUEENSLAND’S State of Origin selectors have always been big believers in showing loyalty to the men that have done the job before.
The big task ahead of the selectors this year is whether “old loyalty” outweighs “new loyalty”.
The battle for spaces in the backline is intriguing, because whatever happens, there are going to be players miss out who ordinarily would be among the first picked in most representative teams.
What Maroons coach Kevin Walters settles on with his left wing will be the most intriguing selection of all.
Firstly, he has Darius Boyd – an experienced professional who has a tried-and-tested combination with Greg Inglis that has netted more tries than any other combination in Origin over the past decade.
Secondly, there is Valentine Holmes – a rising superstar of the game who was simply tremendous in his first Origin series last year, bringing great size, athleticism and a freakish ability to score the tries that turn games.
And then there is Corey Oates, who has never let Queensland down in the four games he has played for the side. He is big, strong and reliable, and it has to be said played brilliantly for the Broncos last Thursday night against the Rabbitohs.
What a decision to make.
All of them have tremendous upside, and would absolutely get the job done.
So do you go for the ever-reliable Boyd, who has seen it all before in Origin, has a ready-made combination with Inglis and has served Queensland for nearly 30 games in a career that demands a show of faith?
Or do you back Holmes as the incumbent or the man he replaced in Oates, both of whom could feasibly play on the wing for Queensland for the next 10 years?
That is where the question is. Do Queensland show loyalty to Holmes or Boyd?
Do they put more value in new loyalty, or old loyalty? I believe it will be a race in two between Boyd and Holmes.
Watching Oates play against South Sydney, I am being won over by the argument that Oates could play off the bench to cover backline and edge-forward positions.
He looked very mentally strong against the Rabbitohs, and he seems to have matured a lot and rid himself of the simple, silly errors that plagued his game for the past few seasons.
The choice between Boyd and Holmes however does not come with such a convenient solution.
Boyd would admit his form to start the year has not been good enough to demand selection.
But on the other side of the coin, if Billy Slater were to go down injured this round (and touch wood, that won’t happen), no one would bat an eyelid if Boyd was named Queensland’s fullback for Origin I at the MCG on June 6.
We would feel comfortable in the knowledge that he will do the job, because he has done it so many times before.
But he has also done the job on the left wing, probably more times than he has at fullback.
The tough decision for the selectors is deciding whether the excellent series Holmes produced last year was part of the youngster’s Origin apprenticeship, or a full-scale changing of the guard.
Originally published as Opinion: Does Kevin Walters back Darius Boyd, Valentine Holmes or Corey Oates for left wing?
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